The Waif
by Cheshirewocky
Summary: There really need to be better programs for children who manifest powers; the Justice League can only do so much. Just take this one kid who showed up out of nowhere and then vanished without a trace. How are they supposed to help someone who doesn't want to be found? How are they supposed to know if their help is even needed? Of course they'll still try. It's what they do...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Glow That Illuminates**

 **New Jersey, April 13, 21:47 EDT**

The camera had been in her car, all the way down the road. That was the only reason she could film everything now. In her shock, she'd barely had time to slip on her shoes and sling her bag over her shoulder – even that was probably a bad idea – before running to her window, to the firefighter. He'd been yelling muffled commands through his mask while climbing in.

" _Come on, come on, come on! Forget that! Come on!"_ He sounded like Darth Vader when he breathed, but it wasn't funny. It meant he wasn't the one coughing and crying while he carried her down.

Now she was on the sidewalk across the street, filming the demise of her apartment from behind caution tape and emergency vehicles. A huge stretch of their avenue was lit up like it was still twilight, but every time she pointed the camera up toward the roof, it caught the pitch dark sky beyond a cloud of smoke.

There almost seemed to be more smoke than actual flame. It was seeping out through the edges of closed windows and rolling out of open ones. They could barely see above the second floor through it all, let alone to the tops of the cranes that were extended even higher. How the firefighters were getting anything done up there was beyond her. Even if their eyes weren't watering like hers had, she remembered the thick, dark haze that she'd had to stumble through, barely seeing two feet in front of her, calling back and forth like a game of Marco Polo until she found the window.

She felt the cold night air mingle with the heat radiating from the building, and she kept thinking about how good it was that she at least had shoes on. Was that a terrible thought to have? She should have just rolled out of bed and made her way out. Even if it was only a few extra seconds, she'd wasted that man's time by grabbing needless _stuff_ , and she'd dangerously wasted her own time. Still, it was nice that her feet weren't freezing on the concrete now that she was safe.

"That building is…it's crap, man. Single-pane windows, like-"

"No, you know what it is? They came in and installed new smoke alarms. That's what it is."

"Yeah, I just talked to Fred. He said that usually he can hear the alarm when it goes off and wakes right up, but this time he didn't hear anything."

"Yeah, no, I didn't hear anything either. I just woke up and smelled smoke and…"

The whole affair was a lot quieter than they made it look on TV. There was an occasional alarm or siren that went off from somewhere around them, but it was just as quickly silenced. There were people talking in the streets and static-filled messages coming over radios and walkie-talkies. There was a constant, dim crackle coming from inside the building, and a couple women by the ambulances were crying, but most of the noise came from the thunderous torrents of water crashing against the outer wall and window panes, searching for any opening to enter through. Even the reporters sounded oddly quiet, but then, she was used to hearing reporters through their microphones.

More glows started to appear inside, as if the hoses were somehow making things worse instead of better. It only came from the second floor at first, but the light was spreading up to the third floor now, maybe the fourth. It was hard to tell.

Suddenly, a wave of smoke blew out from the open first floor with what sounded like a muffled roar, obscuring the entire building and everything in front in a roiling, white haze. Some cries filtered back, something about supports giving out inside and calling everyone down.

A woman behind her gasped and dropped something that crumpled and smashed on the ground.

" _What's going on?!_ "

She barely managed to turn her camera and see a plastic bag leaking on the corner of the sidewalk before a blur rushed past. When the camera turned back, the woman was struggling against an officer who caught her before she could cross the caution tape.

" _My babies! My girls!_ "

"Ma'am! Please calm down!"

" _My girls! They're in there!_ "

" _Ma'am!_ _Calm down!_ Look around – are they out here?! They may already be out! What are their names?!"

The woman froze and swiveled back around, turning her gaze frantically from the ambulances to the former occupants of the building who had all gathered together. "Marsha! Loraine! _Marsha!_ "

She ran amongst the people, who were now looking around themselves for two little girls. Any lone children would have been kept close to the ambulances, where the authorities could keep an eye on them, but none of the paramedics had tended to a young girl and her baby sister.

" _No!_ "

"Ma'am! I – I'm sorry! You can't go in there! It's too dangerous!"

The officer held the woman back. A young couple who apparently knew her rushed forward to try to help. She instantly turned on them, yelling something about keeping an eye while she was out. They cowed away, and her attention returned to struggling and pointing up toward the fourth floor, begging someone to go get her babies.

The camera caught movement behind the crowd, something shifting quickly just past the woman. It dashed in the direction of the building while the officer was preoccupied. When the camera turned to follow, a small form in dark, baggy clothes and a hood came into focus.

"What the-"

"Hey!"

"Who is that?!"

" _Get out of there!_ "

" _Get back here!_ "

Whoever it was didn't listen. The crazy kid was more than a full head shorter than every officer and firefighter he passed on the way, but no one managed to notice or stop him before he reached the outer wall. After all, civilians who tried to run _toward_ burning buildings were usually hysterical, raising their own alarms and giving plenty of warning. This one moved with silent, single-minded determination. Unable to catch him, everyone expected the kid to run in through a door or window. Instead, he leapt onto a drainpipe.

She had to admit, even in her horror, that it was impressive how fast he shimmied upward. The tallest firefighter nearby ran over and jumped up to grab the kid's leg, but he was too late and missed. The kid disappeared momentarily behind thick smoke. The ladders were already being taken down, the cranes moving back.

He reappeared over a second-story window, latching onto the base of the brick window ledge above. One of his hands slipped, and a cry of fear rippled through the crowd. The kid's hood fell back, revealing a small head covered in tufts of a grown-out buzz cut, and a thin neck that made his baggy clothes look even larger on him.

He swung his arm back up, pulled himself over the brick ledge, hopped inside the open window, and vanished. Orange flames reached forward to lick the glass and spit out embers. Another cry rose from the crowd, but the camera stayed focused on the window. The patch of ceiling visible inside was burning brightly.

The firefighters couldn't go back up to find him. The building was coming down, and they were more likely to get themselves killed in the attempt than they were to save anyone else. The crowd was warned that if they stayed where they were, a lot of debris would be coming their way. Another twisting wave of smoke emerged from inside, surrounded by floating ash that glowed briefly – like fireflies –then faded. Now they could see the blaze behind it that covered the roof of the building like a halo.

Most people started moving further down the sidewalk in either direction. The camera lens lowered and showed for a minute only a shaky impression of the ground and some fingers. It stilled after that, but didn't rise immediately. A moment passed. Then another.

"Hey!"

The lens flew up, throwing the image out of focus. When it cleared, it showed an alleyway next to the burning building. There was a fire escape running down the side, a brick-wall dead end, and the kid with a buzz cut laying two prone forms much smaller than himself on the ground, where the smoky haze was thin.

" _Hey, kid!_ "

"What- Jim, get over here! _Officer! Officer!_ "

One of the reporters ran forward to the caution tape, followed by his cameraman. He waved down a nearby fireman and policeman and pointed out what was happening in the shadows before turning to the camera.

Behind him, the kid had looked up at their cries. His face could barely be seen, his features blurred through the smog. He looked down at the children again, then up at the officers coming closer. The larger of the two girls on the ground weakly raised her hand toward her savior, who gently squeezed it and seemed to say something short. He then stood up, stumbled slightly, and ran back into the alleyway.

The officer called after him, chasing him to the mouth of the alley while the firefighter checked on the children and carefully carried them away from the building. Part of the front wall further down the way started to collapse forward.

The kid had regained his composure and picked up speed. He jumped on top of a trashcan, to a taller dumpster, and from there leapt toward the brick wall. The camera barely caught him bracing one hand on top of the wall to vault himself over. Then a cloud rolled through, and he was gone. The officer didn't dare chase him past the fire escape, where flames were blazing against those windows as well.

"The two young children both survived their harrowing experience last night, incredibly with no injuries and only minor smoke inhalation."

The camera cut to a view of Marsha and Loraine's mother, no longer frantic. She was now smiling and crying with the white scenery of a hospital corridor behind her. "It's a miracle. It's just a miracle, and those are my baby's words. They brought her into the room and told us she'd be okay, and she just looked at them and said, 'I know. That's what the angel told me, and Loraine is going to be okay, too.' She said it was an angel that saved her and her sister tonight, and I believe that."

The camera cut to a girl no older than five sitting up in her hospital bed. "I was scared, yeah. There was smoke everywhere, but I knew to stay close to the floor. I didn't want to leave my sister, so I waited. I thought someone would come get us. Then the lady came in." Marsha grinned shyly and fiddled with the blanket over her legs.

"Young Marsha describes the girl as glowing and being surrounded by a large ball of light that pushed back the flames and smoke. Assuring Marsha that she was there to take her and baby Lorraine to their mother, their angel then proceeded to do just that, carrying them safely to the fire escape and out. With the two sisters out of harm's way, we can thankfully say that everyone made it out of the fire alive. A happy end to a tale of remarkable heroism. Back to the studio."

"Thank you, Sasha – remarkable, indeed. Wow." The shot switched back to the news anchors, all of whom showed more or less sincere expressions of amazement.

"I think wow is really all you can say, Paul. Our thoughts are, of course, with the victims of this awful affair."

"Absolutely, and about this young mystery hero, no one knows who she is or why she ran away. Police are asking that anyone with information about her identity or whereabouts please come forward. They've already reviewed several tapes made by news stations present at the time and by the civilians who were there last night, but as you could see, no one got a good look at her."

"Released statements suggest no one there even remembers seeing her in the crowd beforehand, not that they didn't have good reason to be distracted, but-"

"But – oh, sorry Amanda – but yeah, it's not just for thanks that they want to find this girl, but also to make sure she's okay." The camera began rolling through silent clips of the event while Paul spoke over them. "She ran straight into that alley there, and authorities found no sign of her this morning when they searched the debris. They're worried about any smoke inhalation and injuries she may have sustained."

"Without a clear view of her face, all that's been confirmed is her approximate height. They don't even have a probable weight or build because of how large those clothes are that you see her wearing. Before young Marsha told everyone otherwise, initial reports described her as a boy. Authorities think whoever this was, was just a teenager. A _teenager_. Can you believe that?"

"We've already received many messages and questions regarding whether or not this may be another young superhero, none of which, I'm afraid, can be answered at this time. The Justice League has given no word on whether they'll be looking into the matter-"

The image on the screen froze, and Batman turned to the team.

"We've already begun looking into the matter. You're being brought on board."

 _To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Glare That Obscures**

 **New Jersey, April 14, 09:32 EDT**

"So what do we think about this girl?" Cassie took another lick of her ice cream cone, tucking her hair behind her ear to keep it from falling in the treat.

"Isn't that what we're here to figure out?" Bart asked. He was watching each of his three-scoop cones so carefully that he didn't notice the crack in the sidewalk until he tripped on it. A little dance later, he breathed a sigh of relief that none of his ice cream had fallen.

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, but what initial impression are we going in with? Standard protocols are good for standard situations, but what if this isn't? If we find her, how do we approach her?"

" _Cautiously,"_ came Batgirl's voice in their earwigs, _"And gently. She has powers, that much is clear, but we don't know their nature or how well she can control them. What we do know is she's willing to run into a fire – twice – to avoid contact with anyone, potentially while injured. We should assume confrontation will make her skittish."_

"Maybe she just didn't want the public attention. Those clothes didn't look like a costume, and she wasn't wearing a mask," Bart said.

" _That's possible, if she has those resources. Without knowing who she is, we can't assume she has the background and training we do."_

"We can't assume she doesn't, either," Cassie retorted.

" _Fair enough, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Remember, your mission is strictly to scout and gather intel about her identity and whereabouts. We're not necessarily looking to recruit. We just want to know her intentions, and if she has enough of a handle on her powers not to–"_

"Her _intentions_ so far are to save people from dying when no one else can." Bart's response was quick and bitten out more defensively than he meant it to be. They'd started this same debate at the Watchtower but cut it short to finish prepping for the trip, and he was annoyed to hear their ops commander endorsing Batman's ever-paranoid ideas.

" _I know – we know, Kid. What she did was admirable,"_ Batgirl placated. " _I'm not saying she's a villain in the making, just that we don't know the variables involved. It could be_ she's _the one who needs help, that getting out of a collapsing, burning building alive was more lucky than planned."_

"Maybe…maybe." Bart looked absently between the six different flavors of ice cream at his disposal. He furrowed his brow in frustration, not noticing how Cassie watched him from the corner of her eye. "There are too many maybes."

" _It's all one big 'maybe' right now, hence your mission. Your only job is research and reconnaissance,"_ Batgirl reminded them again _. "_ If _you're lucky enough to find this girl, and unlucky enough to have to approach her on your own, try using tact before all else. We don't want to antagonize her by coming on too strong."_

"In other words, Bart, leave the talking to me."

"What? I'm a nice guy."

Cassie chuckled and stopped with him at the corner of the block, signing off with the Watchtower now that they'd touched point. The day after the fire, the street in front of the apartment building was completely cordoned off for cleanup. The structure was unrecognizable even from its news footage, now nothing more than a charred, black mess with a missing front wall and an open top.

Bart let out a low whistle. "Wow, that's uninhabitable even by my standards. Guess the whole thing is coming down, huh?"

Cassie nodded. "Yeah. I wonder if the people who lived there will be okay. It's not exactly the Ritz around here, so I doubt they had much beyond what they put into their apartments."

"They're safe, though, right? They'll be fine," Bart said dismissively enough to earn a raised eyebrow. "I'm just saying, what you consider 'not much' still includes electricity, indoor plumbing, a roof – even our motel rooms have TVs in them. And friends and family. These people felt the mode big time, yeah, but they'll bounce back. What's important is that they all got out okay."

Cassie nodded slowly, studying the speedster while he cheerfully scoffed down his desserts, and she just knew he'd give himself another brain freeze with how fast he was eating. After more than two years in their time, never once having to worry about where his next meal would come from, he still hoarded food like it might be taken away from him at any moment. The Flashes' big appetites were familiar to the whole League, so it was easy to forget Bart had other reasons for acting like a starving man. Speaking of which…

"Bart, why are you here?"

That got his attention. He lowered the cones and looked at Cassie in confusion. "Uh, because there's a mystery hero out here we want to find?"

"You should be with Wally."

Bart looked out over the street again. The beat of silence which followed her words was broken only by the distant sounds of construction equipment down the way. "Nah, it's cool. I volunteered for this mission."

"I know, and I've been wondering why. We all have."

"Hey now, what's all this about?" He beamed that bright Flash grin, the one that always put people at ease and lightened up the atmosphere. "Dude, now is the time to feel alive! Two weeks, and all has been totally crash in the world!" He gestured to the destroyed building. "The worst we've had to deal with is a new vigilante doing good in an accident where everybody survived. Everyone should be celebrating, not worrying over nothing."

"We are."

It was only a couple months ago that Nightwing finally, fully resurfaced from his "time off," claiming that Wally was still out there. That they could _bring him back_. It was like the whole world tilted on its axis. The older League members were divided between skeptics who wanted to keep wounds from reopening and hopefuls who didn't want to leave any stone unturned. It was far from easy, what with this Speed Force that most of them still barely understood, but that didn't stop them from trying. No matter what doubts anyone voiced, almost everyone pitched in like it was a compulsion, like they couldn't stop themselves.

Then he was back. It all involved a blend of magic and technology that Cassie couldn't begin to comprehend or approve of, not after what she'd heard about Starro-tech, but it worked. The toughest part wasn't even staving off villains; as it turned out, anything keeping the League distracted was welcome in the criminal community. No, the toughest part, ironically enough, was getting help from one of their own: Dr. Fate. Zatanna did all she could, but she just didn't have her father's experience with crafting magic, nor the depth of knowledge from the being he hosted. It took a lot to convince Fate that trying to get Wally back wasn't time and energy better used elsewhere.

Everyone had been ecstatic, especially the Flash family and the original junior team. At least at first. Bart spent maybe two days with them before coming back to the Watchtower and asking about missions like it was business as usual. Now, here he was.

"I know how hard you took it when he disappeared, Bart," Cassie said gently, hoping this talk wouldn't antagonize him, "And you've worked so hard to do Kid Flash justice."

Ever since his predecessor got back, it showed how much Bart wanted to prove that he'd been honoring his namesake. Ever since taking up the mantle, really, he'd started treating the whole superhero gig more seriously. It was a subtle change for the most part. She probably wouldn't have noticed if not for Blue Beetle, who talked happily and often about how Bart didn't constantly sidetrack everyone on missions anymore. He had his annoying habits, sure (supposedly par for the course for a Flash), but he was more reliable, not always running off for unknown reasons or tricking his teammates into the maneuvers he thought best.

She shook her head. "You can't possibly think Wally isn't proud of you."

"What? No." The look Bart shot her was puzzled. "I mean, yeah, I know that. I've already celebrated. _We've_ already celebrated. How long are reunions supposed to last in this time?"

"That's not…" Cassie stumbled over her words for a moment. A familiar feeling of frustration settled in, the way it always did when she tried to have a serious conversation with Bart. She could never tell if he was derailing the conversation on purpose, or if he was genuinely on a different page from everyone else. "How long isn't an issue, but you came back like everything's back to normal, just another day, nothing special."

"Everything _is_ back to normal." His puzzlement settled into a calm sort of certainty, which confused her in turn. "Wally's safe and home, and everything's back to the way it should be. Right now, we can't get more crash, which means right now's the time to do as much as we can."

"For what?"

"The world? The people we want to protect?" He opened his arms wide, gesturing to the city around them. "What better way is there to celebrate one of us coming back than to do our jobs better than ever before?"

Cassie considered that. It was an odd way of thinking to her, but not necessarily a bad one. "If I hadn't seen my family in two years, I'd probably spend a month straight trying to make up for lost time and helping them settle back in."

His smile was a little too bright, his tone a little too casual as he stared absently into the space above the burnt apartment complex. "Nah. It's great having Wally back, but life is going to keep moving around us whether we want a vacation or not. How else can you settle but to start moving along with it and get back in the flow? We have to make sure the happy endings stay happy after we reach them."

Cassie couldn't put her finger on why, but she felt like she'd just been patronized.

It happened often enough for her to recognize it. Sometimes it came from Beast Boy or Zatanna, when she complained about her mom grounding her and taking away her powers. Sometimes it came from the original Leaguers, when she let her fangirl excitement distract her during fights. Sometimes it seemed like she couldn't open her mouth without someone having an opinion on it, but at least most of the time, she understood why. With Bart, she was never sure what set him off.

She sighed, deciding the discussion would go nowhere fast, and looked around to make sure they were alone. "Anything the vigilante may have dropped or left behind is probably buried under feet of rubble and ash, but it's worth taking a look," she said, voice lowered. _Never assume you can't be seen – or heard_ , Wonder Woman's training came back to her.

"Right. Got a safe zone in mind?"

"We shouldn't stay around the sidewalk here. See that alley across the street? There, behind the three-story. It likely goes between this street and the next, so we can go in from the other side." Ah, the glamorous part of hero life: hanging out in filthy alleys and digging through dirt. Still, considering they'd keep scouting the area after this, it was best to have a simple base on the ground away from prying eyes. Trying to sneak up and down rooftops in broad daylight would only waste time.

"Yes, ma'am." Bart frowned. "Ugh, getting there is gonna feel like crawling through molasses."

"It's a two minute walk. Don't be dramatic."

"Two _minutes?_ To go _that_ _far?_ " He put on such an exaggerated look of horror that Cassie couldn't help but laugh. An agonizing two minutes later, plus a few extra seconds waiting for a car to drive past, they slipped between the buildings and made their way through, back to the cordoned road.

"Alright, just make sure no one's working in the immediate area before you look around," Cassie instructed. They hung back in the shadows, taking stock of the burnt building. Their position gave them a more or less clear view of its front, but not of the alley where the girl had disappeared.

Bart saluted her and held out his remaining ice cream cone. Cassie blinked. When had he finished the other one? "Hold this for me, would ya?"

As soon as she had a firm grip on it, she found the space in front of her empty, filled only by a passing breeze. Now it was time to wait, so she watched construction workers and police officers move around the debris. Getting in and out were the hardest parts when it came to infiltration, but this was a simple hazard zone, not LuthorCorp. Security would have its gaze aimed outward to catch people before they got in. If they didn't see anyone enter, they'd likely assume no one was there. Bart should be fine.

" _Argh!"_ she heard in her earpiece.

"What is it?" she asked, immediately tensing into a ready stance, feet spread, knees bent-

" _Brain freeze!"_

Cassie shook her head. "I'm watching things from here, but I don't have eyes on your location. Try not to take too long."

" _Copy that,"_ he replied miserably, too distracted to even quip about taking too long. Served him right.

She gave him one more minute, long enough for him by her estimate. "Find anything?"

" _Give me a second."_

"Your ice cream's melting."

"Nope, nothing there." Cassie nearly jumped out of her skin. Her elbow propelled upward, aimed at the body attached to the hand that grabbed the cone from her. "Whoa, whoa!" Bart sped back a yard, holding up his free hand in surrender and keeping an eye on her while he licked at his melting treat.

She drew in a breath to yell, then released it before she could let herself do just that. " _Well?_ " she whispered harshly. He smiled sheepishly at her glare.

"I already – uh, no, you were right. No trace of her. So what now?"

So much for being more serious. Cassie huffed in annoyance and gestured tensely back through their own alley. "The park on the next block."

They backtracked the way they came, and once they were at the street corner, Bart followed her gaze to where people were coming and going through a tree line. "Looks like a lot of people are out enjoying the sunshine, I'd guess more than usual," she said.

"Maybe curious neighbors who want a look at what happened?"

"We could see if anyone feels like gossiping. Maybe someone remembers a kid hanging around yesterday."

"Somehow, I doubt they'll be talking about much else."

They made their way over and strolled onto one of the winding paths. Trees were planted densely in the untrimmed grass, but they wore only new spring growth for foliage. Most of the block was still open and visible this time of year.

"Where should we start?" she asked, examining the people around them. There were a few families with young children in the picnic area, kids kicking a soccer ball around, and a group throwing frisbees to each other and their dogs. Others were simply taking a stroll or buying hot dogs and pretzels from a cart.

Cassie was wondering how she could keep Bart from seeing the cart when he got her attention first. "How about her?"

She looked to where he pointed and saw a girl, who might have been about their age, standing off another path a few yards away. She was playing a violin with its case open on the ground next to her. Someone walking back from the hot dog cart dropped his change inside.

"You think she might know something?" The girl was playing through film scores, from what Cassie could tell, and she was pretty good for someone playing solo and by ear. She kept her eyes on the strings, except to smile at the guy who tipped her.

"Homeless, staying in the area, spends her days watching where people gather so she can make money." Bart nodded, smiling easily. "I think she knows a lot that other people don't."

 _Homeless,_ Cassie thought, and it really was a wonder she'd missed it. When they got closer, she could see that only the girl's sneakers were in relatively decent condition, or what could be seen of them as they trampled the heels of her jeans. All her clothes, from her sweatshirt to a very old peacoat, were just barely the wrong size and sported pinprick holes in at least a couple places, and a backpack lying on the ground behind her had been inexpertly patched numerous times. Her face was partially obscured beneath her hood and long brown hair.

"Somehow," Cassie whispered, "I feel like she's wearing way too much for a day when we're eating ice cream."

"She might not have a place to store her stuff." Bart shrugged.

That…was too sad a thought. "Alright. Let's go." It was all the prompting he needed to take the lead, and he moved forward with his Flash grin. He looked sincerely happy in that moment.

"You're really good," he declared with a conviction that was charming, enough to make even Cassie smile, and the girl's smile of thanks was bigger. "Do you take requests?"

Her eyes flicked towards them, but her playing didn't falter. Instead, she deftly reached out a foot and nudged the violin case forward. Cassie pursed her lips, but Bart's grin only grew bigger, and he immediately produced ten dollars to drop inside. That made the music stop. The girl lowered the instrument and bow to her sides, finally turning to her audience.

"And what would you like to hear, sir?" she asked.

The title startled some amusement out of Cassie, something she decided was probably done on purpose, but Bart took it all in stride. "Well, I can't actually think of any songs, but I do have a question. We were wondering if you were around last night." He tipped his head in the direction of the cordoned street. The girl looked that way thoughtfully.

"The fire." No one could accuse her of being indirect.

Bart's eyes slid away sheepishly, and he shifted his weight. "It might not sound great of us, I know, but…well, we're curious."

"You could probably ask anyone. A lot of people were around."

"We weren't, and I'd like to ask you."

She eyed them both silently, measuring them up. Bart held her gaze, as did Cassie, who made sure to stay a step behind him while he did the talking. Maybe the girl remembered the tip they'd already given her, or maybe she thought Bart was just a flirt. Either way, she let out a sigh and relaxed her stance.

"Sure, I was there. Warmest place in the city last night." Cassie had to click her teeth together to keep from snapping something rude. This girl made it sound like the fire was a cozy space heater, not a disaster that put a lot of people in real danger.

"The local shelter must – that is, wouldn't it be better to stay there?" she asked carefully.

The girl gave her an even look in return, her demeanor noticeably cooling. "They were asking questions there." Cassie had no response to that, but they were saved from an awkward silence by Bart, who wasted no time jumping back in.

"So you were here. Did you see what happened?" he asked with quiet excitement.

"You mean the kid?" She snorted. "Hard to miss. Didn't see more of him than anyone else did, though."

"Her," Cassie corrected before she could stop herself. The girl frowned, tilting her head curiously.

"Someone could tell?"

Cassie nodded, clasping her hands behind her back to keep from fidgeting. "The little girls she saved said so. It's been all over the news."

"Oh…I don't tend to get much news." The girl gestured to a newspaper stuck under her violin case, and Cassie could see it was a weekly print, not due for another issue until tomorrow. Heat rose to her face, and she immediately felt embarrassed to realize that this girl probably didn't have access to a TV. Her fingers wove together tightly.

"Then maybe you haven't really thought about it," Bart continued seamlessly, "But did you notice this morning if anybody you know…well…"

"Ah." A small smirk crossed the girl's face as she caught his meaning. "Sorry, I'm new in the city. If you want to play detective, the guys who live here have been hanging around downtown, a few blocks that way." She pointed her bow eastward. "They all know each other. So far as I can tell, none of them are Peter Pan's lost kids."

"If they were, you think they'd tell anyone?" Bart gave her another grateful smile, unmindful of her sarcasm. "Hey, thanks for talking to us! Have a great day."

He dropped another five dollars in her violin case, making a muscle twitch in Cassie's jaw; they weren't given infinite funds for this trip, not even for his endless appetite. With that, he turned to head eastward out of the park, and Cassie turned with him. Before they could take more than a few steps, the girl called out to them.

"Hey." When they looked back, she was checking over her violin strings uncomfortably and avoided looking in their direction. "If you're gonna poke around, watch yourselves. If you got the idea this girl could be homeless, then the cops did too, and none of the others will be happy after dealing with them."

"We'll try not to bother anyone," Bart promised somberly. It was a startling twist from his happy attitude a moment ago, but Cassie understood. To everyone here, they weren't heroes trying to help; they were a couple of brats sticking their noses into other people's business for their own amusement. It was why the adults had left this mission to them, because in the worst case, Bart and Cassie would pass off as brats instead of creeps with complexes. Still, it was an easy way to cause grief, something neither of them wanted to do.

"Let's go," she said, nudging Bart with her elbow.

"Sure, but can we get some of those hot dogs first? And could I borrow a few bucks?"

Cassie groaned and rolled her eyes.

* * *

It must have been the right plaza, though most of the people there were regular shoppers. There were no police around and only a couple kids who looked like the girl from the park. Both were sitting together by a large fountain in the center courtyard, a girl eating a sandwich from a nearby shop and a boy displaying handmade bracelets and necklaces on a mat on the ground.

Neither was particularly remarkable, except for a sort of agelessness that must have helped them avoid social workers. They seemed small-ish, but that could have been from their ill-fitting clothes or undernourishment. At the same time, their eyes were aware and alert, faces sharp with the kind of definition that was earned by toughing life out. They were teens, but it was hard to say how far or early along, just like the girl at the park. Like Bart.

"Not the big group that girl said would be here," he commented. "You think the police picked them all up?"

It didn't seem likely. What would the police do? Send the kids to a hospital to check for smoke inhalation and other injuries? They could be smokers, and care more about getting away than getting treatment, especially the vigilante. And what would the police do with them afterwards? Let them all go? Hold onto them, try to identify who was underage, and figure out which guardians to contact for each one? It would be a messy process even if the kids were willing to cooperate, which they likely wouldn't be.

"No, the whole thing would tie them up too much," Cassie replied. "If cops came around and started paying them special attention, they might have scattered."

"And here I was starting to think this mission would be easy."

"We could always wait until nighttime and approach them as our other selves, but-"

"The longer we wait, the worse our chances of finding evidence." Bart nodded. "Plus, they might like our other selves even less."

Cassie looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?" They were superheroes. _Young_ superheroes. If anything, she'd have thought the opposite, because wasn't it part of their job to inspire other kids?

Bart smiled, still watching the two. "Just trust me."

Cassie eyed him for a second, then turned and started walking to the fountain with him following behind. There were a lot of things about Bart she didn't get, but one thing she knew was that he couldn't be pushed for information he didn't want to share. It was why they made a good team. She would dwell on what he meant later, but for now they couldn't afford him becoming evasive while they were on the job.

What did alarm her was that he didn't step forward once they reached the kids. He stayed back, leaving her to either start talking or look awkward. She moved up to the mat and smiled softly when the boy looked up at her. He had dirty blonde hair poking out from under a beanie and a sweater rolled up to his elbows. His smile was friendly and attentive, but Cassie saw how his eyes quickly scanned her, taking in her age, her demeanor, her clothes. She saw the gears turn in his head, calculating the best way to approach her. She wished she could see the girl's reaction as well but kept her attention forward.

"Hey, um..." She couldn't get rid of her discomfort, so she'd use it instead. She tucked her hands in her pockets and let herself fidget just a little. "We heard about this place from someone at the park nearby."

"The park," he repeated, his eyebrows shooting up. He turned to his friend questioningly, giving Cassie a chance to look at her as well. Her hair was dark and cropped short, and her jacket looked like it would fit the boy better than it did her. Unlike him, though, she wasn't as laid-back when faced with attention. She didn't seem nervous, exactly, but she had the look of someone who wore her emotions closer to the surface. She sat on the fountain's edge stiffly, her eyes darting over Cassie and Bart.

"New girl, remember?" Her voice was quiet and a little hoarse, like she was getting over a cold. "She comes by at night."

"Oh, yeah. Keeps to herself." The boy nodded. "Are you guys looking for a place to stay? Lucky you ran into her."

He sounded sincere, but Cassie wasn't fooled. His eyes again went over their clothes, too clean and well-kept, and the bags they had on them, too small to be carrying all the essentials a person could need. They couldn't pass off as homeless.

"No, that's not it. Actually, we're hoping to find out more about the fire last night."

"You and everyone else." The boy grinned tiredly, apparently satisfied with their honesty. "And thanks to that _girl_ who was there, being a teen is as good as wearing a spotlight, am I right?"

This wasn't the reaction Cassie expected. She opened her mouth to respond but couldn't think of what to say. Bart chimed in for her.

"It's not so bad, amigo. Everyone knows from the news it was a girl with short hair." From the corner of their eyes, they all noticed the girl fidget. Bart held up his hands when the boy frowned at him. "Shorter than that! It's enough to keep people from bothering with us, isn't it?"

Cassie was careful to keep her expression neutral, but she marveled at how he could talk like he was on the same page as these two. Then again, the other boy was already assuming exactly that, supposedly because they were fellow teens in the same situation and he wanted to vent about it. Plus, Bart had always been good at bluffing.

The other boy scoffed. "You clearly don't know cops and government workers. They're like robots who can only work out one keyword at a time. _'Hashtag teenager.'_ "

"There are some pretty cool robots out there," Bart offered.

"I guess you'd think so when you never have to deal with them." As soon as he'd said it, the boy held up his own hands, stopping Bart from replying. The girl on the fountain fidgeted again. "Look, I get it - I get why you'd be interested in the hero. I'd like to find her too, let her know how much trouble she made for us."

"What trouble?" Cassie asked, too surprised to be annoyed. "She saved those little kids' lives."

"And that's great. I'm not saying it isn't. But maybe she should have left it to whoever her mentor is, huh? Keep the rest of us out of it, like we don't have better things to do than dodge adults all day. Not all of us have superheroes looking out for us, and when the juniors start running around, thinking they can do whatever they want, all of _us_ have to start hiding from every social service activist and teary-eyed soccer mom on the street who can't stay out of other people's business."

He was clearly on a roll after getting himself agitated. His friend put her hand on his shoulder, stopping his momentum, and from the look on her face, this wasn't the first time she'd heard his rant. Cassie exchanged glances with Bart; this was not how they expected this encounter to go. Only when Bart looked away again with a frown on his face did she notice his own bad temper showing. It was so rare to see that she caught it too late to stop him from speaking again.

"Not crash, dude." Cassie winced at the slip of his old jargon. "She is a superhero for what she did, junior or not. She helped people. What if she's the one who needs help now?"

"The League'll take care of her." The boy matched Bart's challenge with a sneer.

"She was on her own last night," Cassie said. "What makes you think she's part of the League?"

"Please. She has powers; of course they're gonna care. The rest of us can run around after their sidekicks make a mess, but they'll drop everything for someone with powers."

The girl at the fountain looked down at her lap and seemed to shrink into herself. The worst part was that Cassie couldn't say it wasn't true. Her and Bart being there proved it was.

Bart didn't seem to be having the same internal struggle. "What a major inconvenience for you, her putting herself at risk for other people's sakes. You must be suffering as much as the people who lived in that building."

"Bart-" Cassie took a step closer to him.

"Hey-" the girl at the fountain spoke up. She looked at them wide-eyed and leaned forward, almost in front of her friend as though to be a shield between him and Bart, but they looked right through her.

The boy tensed like he was ready to jump up, but instead he just gritted his teeth. "You rich kids have no idea-"

"You know what, amigo?" Bart continued, glaring right back. "You're right. I haven't been suffering, and I think it's because of people like her. I wanted to find this girl to thank her for what she did. To tell her I hope I learn to be as brave as she is someday, and help the people around me no matter what I have to go through to do it. I thought maybe you guys would want to do the same, and you'd know how to find someone like her better than we would. Guess I was wrong."

Gentle coughing cut through their showdown, and both boys broke eye contact to look at the girl on the fountain. Her face was red and she appeared abashed at Bart's words, looking anywhere but at him and Cassie. Or maybe her cold was flaring up, since she was coughing into her sleeve. Either way, the sight of her discomfort disrupted the confrontation.

"Sorry we bothered you. We'll leave," Cassie said, and her voice sounded unusually even after all the sharp barbs that were exchanged. She grabbed Bart's hand and pulled him away while the other boy turned to his friend, pulling a water bottle from one of their backpacks for her.

* * *

Cassie led Bart back up the streets without a word, and he followed without a word, without even asking where they were going. Every minute or so, she'd look at him to gauge how intensely he was staring at the air in front of him, and most of the walk was spent giving him time just to cool down. She wasn't worried; he was a Flash, after all. The whole family was optimistic to the core, and frankly, it was nice to be reminded that he was human enough to get angry too sometimes.

True to form, it didn't take too long for his gaze to lose its edge, though there was still a lingering frown on his face.

"What you said was really nice," Cassie said softly, "About the vigilante."

He didn't react at first. Then he shrugged his shoulders as though shrugging out his remaining tension. "It was true."

An artless smile appeared on her face, and she simply watched him for a moment. Bart could be a pain in the neck, but he always managed to remind her why he was her favorite partner to work with.

"So where to next, boss?" he asked.

"I want to look at the other street, the one behind the dead end the girl jumped."

"You think we'll find something?" The building behind the burnt apartments had avoided catching fire itself, thanks to evacuations and prevention measures, but it had still taken some damage and was being tended to over the course of the day.

"It's also an apartment building, I think," Cassie mused. "The cops will be gone already, and the people living there should be at work by now. All the repairs are going to be in the back of the building, so we should be able to take a look around without trouble."

"Yeah, but do you think we'll find anything?" Bart repeated. "The place has probably been cleaned out and combed over already, to make sure it's still livable."

"Which is why we won't be looking at the building. I want to look at the rest of the street around it." At Bart's questioning look, she explained, "She had to get out of there somehow, which means she could have left a trail."

"Unless she can fly. Or teleport."

"Right, but..." Cassie shook her head. "I have a hunch."

"Oh yeah?"

"First of all, have you ever tried flying through smoke? Not fun - better to stay low to the ground. Second of all, there was something about the way she looked in the videos. She was hurt. If there were police and firemen and evacuated crowds on that road as well...I mean, if it were me trying to get away, I wouldn't risk using my powers, flying or blinking out, where I might be noticed. I'd save my energy to blend in and sneak out."

"Got it. So we're looking for shadowy corners out of sight-"

"Places where she could stop and lean against something, other alleys to go through, anything she could have snagged a hair on."

"Okay, I'm on- _glgh!_ " Bart tried to dash away, only to find his sweatshirt collar choking him when Cassie preemptively grabbed it.

"We're out in the open here, genius. No _blinking_ around, okay?" she warned. "Just deal with the flood of molasses."

"Aw, man," he whined, but dutifully he kept to a normal, and sometimes horrendously (for him) slow, pace. They carefully took stock of one full side of the sidewalk, then, finding nothing, started back up the other.

"Cassie," Bart called almost immediately.

She joined him around the corner building. He was crouched down, looking at something on the ground, and she noted that he was just out of sight of where the action would have been by the damaged apartments, even factoring out darkness.

"What is it?" She peered over his shoulder, and he leaned back to let her see. "A..."

"Sooty shoe print," he supplied.

"A third of one, it looks like." He made room for her to crouch down as well. She pulled out her League communicator and took images, making sure to get measurements. "What could leave a third of a shoe print?"

"What could avoid leaving any all the way down here, and then this?" Bart countered.

It sat inches away from the brick wall of the corner building, the ball of a foot pressing down through a shoe, while somehow the heel had been cut off. Or lifted?

"Maybe she flew away," Cassie murmured, her brow furrowed.

"Maybe, but that doesn't explain how there aren't any prints leading up to it." Bart stood and positioned one foot close to the print, lifting his other foot in the air. He immediately lost balance and grabbed at the wall for support, which made Cassie take a closer look at it.

"Here," she said, fingers hovering over a spot near his hand. "More soot, a hand and maybe a shoulder. The girl leaned against it - I knew she must have been hurt." Cassie made a sound of frustration. "The brick is too rough; no way to get fingerprints off that."

"But hey, this is a start." Bart smiled. "And we know which way she was headed. We'll keep looking."

She sighed. "Yeah."

"And you know, I would have found it a lot faster if I'd-"

"Shush. Accept the molasses."

He groaned, and she chuckled, and they started off down the street in the direction the print pointed, carefully examining the ground and walls around them.

 _To be continued..._

* * *

Noellesmells1: I'm glad you liked the last chapter :) I hope you enjoyed this one as well.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Perspective**

 **Watchtower, April 21, 13:23 EDT**

"Sometimes being a superhero sucks." Cassie stabbed at the carrots on her plate and dropped her cheek into her hand. Asami raised an eyebrow, maintaining her posture in her seat around the table. Cassie noticed her look and sat back up. "I just mean that sometimes all of our drama about secrets and anonymity seems like more trouble than it's worth, you know? At this point, I wish we could just put up an ad."

She waved her fork in the air for dramatic effect, as though reading out an article. "Wanted: scrawny girl, short hair, angel powers. Open invitation to any global Justice League headquarters at your earliest convenience. Will reimburse travel costs and provide snacks." Asami giggled at the description, making Cassie grin in return. Then the Wonder Girl sighed. "Whoever she is, she's really good at disappearing."

Cassie returned to her sullenness. She continued to wave her fork in the air, this time guiding it like a plane between the pinpricks of stars visible outside the Watchtower's window. The mess hall aboard the space base was sparsely populated at the moment, giving them privacy on the side of the room. A few other costumed heroes dotted the tables or got food from the small buffet line. Through the multi-story-length windows was a view of the Milky Way as seen from Europe and Africa at the moment, with the sun hidden on the other side of the planet and the planet hidden behind the other side of the station.

Asami studied her friend. "That is good, isn't it? From our perspective. She understands the value of keeping herself secret. Troublesome as anonymity may be, the alternative would be less pleasant. You know this."

Cassie had always been more than a little star-struck by heroism, even since before joining the League, from what Asami heard. Daughter of a god, protégé of a demi-god, she must have had a romantic view of her own identity.

Unlike some of the others who found Cassie's attitude grating, Asami liked it. She also envied it a little. Cassie was confident about herself and her ability to do good in the world. She was comfortable enough with herself not to be suspicious whenever people gave her recognition. She was optimistic enough to never lose a spark of excitement and wonder, no matter how many times she got knocked down.

Asami had been kidnapped, experimented on, and used by alien villains. After that, she'd been imprisoned, trained, and studied by earth heroes. After that, she'd been manipulated and used again by a villain masquerading as a hero - or at least as _her_ hero.

Cassie nodded glumly. "I know, I know...deep down, I know. But even though it's better, that doesn't make it perfect. Like this girl, right? If we could find her, we could help her, train her, give her some recognition for what she's done."

"Or lock her away in a laboratory." The words were out of Asami's mouth before she realized what she was saying. Her jaw closed with a click of teeth before she could finish the sentence: _Until you decide she's not a threat_.

Through a heavy silence, Cassie stared at her in dismay. "I - I didn't mean-"

"I know." Asami held up a hand to halt the apology.

It was just one more difference between them. At Cassie's words, Asami had imagined the grand, televised parades in the League's honor, their museums and city statues and fan merchandise. Her mind had then immediately pulled into the past, toward sterile white walls, locked doors, stoic guards, and a feeling, like wilting on the inside, of being very alone that stung even years later.

Cassie, she knew, meant well. In the optimist's mind, recognition didn't mean parades, or exposure to an adoring public that would compromise their privacy, or forced guidance that would compromise their freedom. It was simple appreciation and a sense of belonging.

"I'm sorry. I know," Asami repeated with a sigh. "I'm just saying that there are many reasons why someone may wish to hide, even from you. From _us_."

 _From you_. Another slip, one that she told herself Cassie hadn't noticed despite the lingering, guilty stare. Cassie cleared her throat and squirmed in her seat, returning her attention to her food.

"We really messed up back then," she said quietly. Asami didn't answer immediately, though the silence of course said it all.

It was only recently, after she'd left the Outsiders, that she learned the League had a new way of operating when it came to recruiting kids. Namely, they didn't, at least not on a League-wide scale. In fact, standardizing the League's response to new heroes came courtesy of the original junior team themselves.

After the disaster of how they handled Roy and the Outsiders - _oh,_ the horror stories of making amends to Virgil's family for keeping him away - Nightwing and Aqualad realized why their own mentors had kept their young lives private for so long. As adults, they now realized what it meant to be accountable for the wellbeing of children. Now, until a junior reached the age of legal adulthood in their area of origin, there were no parades, no public exposure. To begin with, there was barely any exposure to the League.

The League was not a draft service, they wanted the world to know, but it _was_ their duty to ensure the safety of others. When an adult with abilities was discovered, a Leaguer would be sent out to introduce themselves, make sure the new hero was appropriately trained and safe, explain matters insofar as how things were done, assure them that if they ran into any difficulties all they had to do was call, and then leave them alone until they either started causing trouble or decided they wanted to join the League.

It was dubbed the "good neighbor" procedure - a civil introduction and tactful withdrawal. If one look at Batman wasn't enough, experience had taught them all that pressuring people did nobody any good. The procedures concerning kids, of course, had some key differences.

"Do you regret coming to us?" Cassie asked cautiously, drawing Asami from her thoughts. She looked out the window, taking time to puzzle through an answer that even she wasn't entirely sure of.

"I wasn't happy with the Outsiders," she said finally. Cassie curled and uncurled her fingers on the table.

"But you're not happy here."

"I wasn't _unhappy_ with the Outsiders," Asami said gently, dropping her gaze. "Not exactly. They did not drive me away, and I have not abandonedthem to replace them with the League." Those last words were said partly to herself, and they competed with less kind voices still ringing in her head from when she'd said goodbye to everyone.

Asami looked across the table at the one person who'd welcomed her wholeheartedly since her first day here. She believed if there was anyone who would truly listen to her, it would be Cassie. If even Cassie couldn't do that, then she'd know she made a mistake coming to this place.

"For awhile now, I was...uneasy with them." Asami cupped her mug of tea between both hands, trying to line up her palms and fingers evenly while she talked. "I felt a little blind, I think."

"Blind?" Cassie interrupted, then quickly closed her mouth and settled back to listen.

"...You have to understand, we are the closest thing to a family we can be. We are all a little messed up, but we're messed up together, and together we do the best we can. It is the same for how we go about being heroes. Sure, we're messy, but we do the best we can together. All of us – all of _them_ , the others – are good people." Asami took a sip of tea as an excuse to think. This time Cassie stayed quiet. "I've never really liked messiness, though. My powers, yes? They come from my ability to control my energies, which is only possible when I achieve inner balance and stability."

Cassie nodded obligingly, and Asami restrained a smile. She knew the other girl wasn't versed in Eastern philosophies and practices, but she did her best to keep up anyway. "I started to feel like there must be a way to do things that would be less messy – a better way, at least for me. But I didn't know how to discover it. I only know two ways right now: messy and restricting."

"The Outsiders, and what little you saw of us," Cassie laid out plainly, frowning.

"I do not think our way was wrong, no more than the League's way is wrong. Each has their benefits and faults, but I was living with the Outsiders' faults, seeing them all the way through." Asami hesitated and lowered her voice again. "It started interfering with my powers."

Cassie's eyes widened, and Asami didn't blame her for being alarmed. This was the part she hadn't revealed to anyone, a dangerous detail to keep to herself regardless of her discretion in avoiding major hero work since being inducted into the League. Powers gone haywire were not something to toy around with.

"Mostly it weakened me," she continued quickly. "All my unease left me with inner turmoil that made my energies hard to access and direct. That was when I decided to leave. I couldn't let anyone get hurt because of me."

"That's why you've only been taking minor solo missions," Cassie deduced. Asami nodded. "I thought you were just nervous about working in one of our teams, not being familiar with our protocols and all."

"That is another reason," Asami admitted with a sheepish smile. She never would have said so with any other Leaguer, but she knew Cassie wasn't just digging for weaknesses or liabilities to disapprove of. Her concern was genuine.

"But that's all the more reason you should work with us," Cassie insisted. "Going out alone when you're not in top form is dangerous; you never know what might happen. And you're never going to learn the League's way of doing things if you never start."

"Perhaps you are right." Asami tapped a finger on the rim of her mug. "Maybe...maybe I can help you with this girl you are looking for."

"Really?" Cassie blinked. "Are you sure? These sorts of situations are...volatile. It's not like the mainline League missions, just taking someone down or keeping people safe. We have no idea what might happen when we find someone who doesn't want to be found, especially a kid."

"I believe I can help," Asami said with more conviction, nodding to herself. "I am not so familiar with being a Leaguer, but I understand being a young runaway with powers. She may hide from you and Bart, but I believe I can relate to her and find her more easily."

"Well," Cassie leaned back in her seat, "Those are good points. Let's go talk to Batgirl after we're done eating."

They spoke of lighter topics after that while they finished lunch: school, the looming summer break, movies and videogames. They kept chatting comfortably as they walked toward the corridor –

"Hey, Cassie...Asami."

– until Nightwing, headed toward the mess hall, stopped inside the door and severed their conversation.

"Hey, Nightwing." Cassie smiled amiably. He nodded to her and then turned his attention to Asami, who looked back at him with a neutral expression.

"Do you have time to talk?" he asked. There was a hint of awkwardness in his demeanor, maybe out of embarrassment or guilt as Asami liked to imagine.

"About Arsenal." She didn't beat around the bush. Ever since she came to the League, Nightwing seemed to expect her to act as an informant on the Outsiders. It was irritating.

"If it's okay, we could go somewhere-"

"I do not have time, and as always, there is nothing to say."

His mouth twisted and pressed into a thin line. After a moment, he gestured her out of the way of the door and lowered his voice. Cassie hovered at eavesdropping distance, going to lean against the wall. "Asami, I'm sure you can understand why we worry. You yourself left the Outsiders for a reason."

She glared, and he quickly backtracked. "He...we didn't do right by him. I know that. He was absorbed in his own anger when he left, and it was because we messed up. We can't reach out to him if he won't let us, but _you_ could talk to him."

"He is not interested in returning to the League."

"But can you understand why it's important?" Nightwing sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, but you _did_ leave the Outsiders. Was it because of him? His anger made him chaotic back then, and if he's been holding onto that all this time-"

"He does his best. He's taken care of us." Asami crossed her arms. "I will respect his silence and not attempt to speak for him."

Nightwing observed her for a moment, clearly reluctant to leave things at that. "Do you think he's stable?" he asked.

Asami bristled with defensiveness on behalf of the friend and guide who'd watched out for her these past couple years. She opened her mouth to respond when, in a moment of great poetic irony, Question opened the door to the mess hall and walked right past them, thumbing through a journal and mumbling to himself. Before the door slid shut again, they could see Batman turning down the side corridor.

Cassie tried valiantly to hide a smile from her spot. Asami restrained both a smile and a smirk, but she did turn her nose up at the boy wonder.

"Stability is somewhat subjective, don't you think?"

He stiffened as Asami brushed past him and headed toward the door. Cassie pushed herself off the wall and joined her, waving back at Nightwing quietly before following her friend out of the hall.

"So." Cassie clasped her hands behind her back. "Batgirl."

"Yes, Batgirl." Asami honestly couldn't say where Cassie stood on the matter of Arsenal, whether she was concerned about him like the rest of the League or whether she didn't consider him a real threat. Either way, she always remained neutral when the matter came up, and seemed to respect Asami's unwillingness to let her own place in the League affect her old friends. She appreciated that.

"You are...truly alright with letting me help?" Asami asked hesitantly, feeling self-conscious after that exchange Cassie witnessed.

"If you want to try, I don't see why not. You clash with the others when it comes to conventional issues and missions. Maybe a different type of job is just what you need."

Asami smiled slightly. "That is exactly what I was thinking."

There were times, like now, when she felt she'd never really be accepted by the League. Because of her history with them, they couldn't see who she was in the present. If there was a young girl out there feeling the same, maybe she and Asami would be able to help each other.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_ Another story veeery late in updating. Ah, well...

killianrainey: Batgirl did walk back on that and agree with them, but to be fair, Batman has a point. Careless trust is dangerous, especially when dealing with a superpowered stranger. He may be overly paranoid, but the man's good at keeping himself and the League safe.


End file.
